


Welcome to Night Vale, Winchesters

by MaddeningNoise



Series: Welcome to Night Vale, Winchesters [1]
Category: Supernatural, Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Case Fic, Castiel isn't the man in the tan jacket carrying a deerskin suitcase, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Cecilos is established, Chapters will be short, Crossover, Dean and Sam come to night vale, Destiel Is not, Destiel is a subplot, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Not sure where I'm going with this, Supernatural/Night Vale crossover, im not caught up with supernatural, just in case you're wondering, possible spoiler warning, still on season ten, the title is crap I know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-05-13 19:53:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 6,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5715088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddeningNoise/pseuds/MaddeningNoise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Dean discover night vale while looking for a case. If they were to solve every supernatural occurrence night vale has, they would be there until they die. Again. </p><p>Also, Cecil knows when two people are in love, even if they don't. Carlos might not be able to stop him from interfering with Dean and Cas' love lives. He also might not want to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“So get this. There’s this desert town called ‘Night Vale” Sam began, leaning back in his chair and turning his computer, which displayed a research website to face Dean.

“As far as I can tell, odd is the norm there. They’ve got all sorts of local legends and customs; a smiling god, hooded figures in the local dog park, disappearing “old oak doors”, a “faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home” to name a few,”

Dean took a sip of his beer. “That’s quite a mouthful for a local legend.”

Sam shrugged. “She doesn’t seem to cause too much trouble; she’s mostly just a household pest.”

“But…?” Dean asked.

“This blog ends right when the blogger arrives in Night Vale. It’s some sort of scientific journal, apparently. He calls Night Vale; “the most scientifically interesting place

in the world. But judging by the occurrences there, I think there’s more than science to it.”

Dean took another sip. “So if odd is normal and they've got a scientist on the case, why do we care?”

“I think it’s worth checking out.” Sam stated, shutting his laptop and carrying it towards his room. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a low-profile case anyways.”

“Fair enough.” Dean shrugged before following after Sam to pack his bags, leaving his beer bottle on the table.

When passing back by it on their way to the impala, they failed to notice that it had been flipped upside down with liquid still inside. a subtle move by the faceless old

woman who secretly lived in their bunker.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean sat at the wheel, staring straight ahead at the road while Sam sat slouched in his seat, head tilted back, mouth wide open. The radio was buzzing on the Night Vale channel as they drive further into the dry south west.

"Where is Night Vale?" Dean had asked several hours earlier, when the pair had only just left the Bunker.

Sam had hesitated, turning to the research site for guidance. After a few clicks of his phone, he responded. "the blog says we need to drive into the Southwest region of the United States, tune the radio to 615.12, and follow the strength of the channel."

Dean had pulled the car over and jerked to a stop at this, turning to Sam. "You mean we're supposed to play warm or cold with this town until it shows up?"

Sam had sighed. "It moves around, apparently."

Dean had made several irritated, disbelieving noises at this, until Sam eventually managed to convince him after Dean had turned the car around and began driving back to the bunker. Dean had turned around very reluctantly when finally convinced.

Dean shifted his hands on the wheel as the buzzing from the radio broke and crackled, a single note making it through. 

He straightened up slightly, reaching one hand out to wake Sam.

"We're nearly there Sam." He stated loudly, attempting to wake his brother.

Sam shook himself awake as the radio came more alive, a deep voice slowly overpowering the buzzing.

"...Ask your doctor if the moon belongs to you. Welcome to Night Vale."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is curious, I used the publishing date of the first episode of WTNV for the radio channel number. Also, I totally stole Cecil's intro from the Night Vale twitter. I'm awful, I really am.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written while listening to the weather. really just a filler. sorry.

It was a short while later when they had arrived in Night Vale, immediately getting cut off at a stop sign by a dusty red car. Dean had released a lengthy honk from his car, at which point a man pulled them over and told them that he was part of the local secret police and could they please not honk at people who have earned stop sign immunity. 

"you boys new in town?' the man had asked, taking a glance at their faces. 

"Yes." Sam had responded weakly as the radio anchor had announced that everyone needed to be very careful and avoid main street as there was currently an march of tiny citizens from the tiny town under lane five. 

"we don't want to start another war." Cecil had said. "They've already proven the danger they pose once when they attacked my boyfriend Carlos, and I don't think any of us want a repeat of that." 

The officer had continued. "We haven't had anyone new in town since Carlos the Scientist. Good luck to you boys."

Dean had asked for the closest Motel, at which point the man had passed them a map and directed them to the Dusty Skies Motel, just down the street from the Night Vale public library. 

They had checked in with the sentient patch of haze floating at the desk and gone to their room, wondering what they had gotten themselves into while Cecil chattered away through the radio on their night stand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written on my phone while mourning the death of Alan Rickman. May he rest in peace.

"So are we here for a specific case?" Dean asked, removing a layer of clothing and leaning over to crank up the AC. "Or did we come here to browse?" 

Sam briefly cracked a grin. "Nah. There have been several mysterious murders around here lately. Each victim was attacked from behind in their own home and recieved several slashes in varying places. A man named Steve Carlsberg was attacked in his home earlier this week. His wife walked in mid way through and the attack stopped. Neither one of them witnessed anyone in the house, and the surveillance agent stationed outside of their home didn't see anything either."

"That was a roller coaster of a sentence." Dean huffed. "Let's get into fbi suits and go check it out." 

A short while later they stood at the top of the ramp leading up to the door of the Carlsberg residence, having knocked and been briefly peered at through the windows by a middle aged, very suspicious looking man. 

Dean raised an eyebrow at the man, who still staring at the pair of them, and flipped open his badge. The man's eyes widened, and he opened the door hesitantly. 

"Is this about the thing with the secret underground missile testing site?" He asked in a rough voice, rubbing at a healing slash mark on his face. "Cause I really didn't mean to cause any-"

Sam cut him off. "I'm agent Tyler, this is Agent Oswald. We're here to ask you about the attack the occurred here." 

"Ohh." Steve Carlsberg visibly relaxed. "Come on in, then. Want me to go get my wife Abby? She saw it too." 

"That would be great." Dean said, stepping into the living room Steve had pointed them to." 

Sam leaned over a desk, examining a series of framed pictures. One displayed a young girl in a wheelchair holding a bouquet, her mother and stepfather directly behind her. Steve was dressed in a suit and tie, Abby radiant in a white dress, also clutching a purple bouquet. A very irritated looking man stood to her right, dressed in a suit and tie with purple tattoos sneaking up his neck and peeking out from beneath his sleeves, blurred as if caught in motion. A tattoo of an eye on his forehead was slightly obscured by his platinum blond hair.

"That's our wedding day." A woman's voice caught Sam by surprise, and he quickly straightened up. "That's my daughter, Janice, and brother, Cecil." She pointed them out a hint of pride in her voice. "Janice is at Cecil's place at the moment. We thought it might be safer for now."

"Always looking out for our little girl." Steve said cheerfully. "Now, what can I help you both with?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I cut this one off because I'm not certain of the details of the case myself yet. Did Anyone catch where I got their agent names from?


	5. Chapter 5

"Can you tell us what you saw, Mr. Carlsberg?" Sam asked, politely taking the "invisible pie" Abby had offered him. It was really just a plate. Dean was fuming next to him, disappointed in the the lack of pie. 

Steve shrugged, one arm around his wife. "I didn't see much of anything, really. One second I was alone in the kitchen, checking on dinner for that night. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and turn around to see that the faceless old woman has been messing with the fridge magnets. Then I got attacked from behind." He lifted his chin to reveal a slash mark across his neck. "If Abby hadn't walked in, I'd be dead." 

Abby pitched in without being asked. "the attack stopped the second I walked in. The knife was dropped to the floor in seconds. The only other thing I saw was a stream of black smoke exiting through the vent."

Dean and Sam glanced at each other, shifting in their seats. 

"Its some sort of spy drone isn't it?" Steve asked. "Is it because I-"

Dean cut him off. "Can we take a look at the kitchen, Mrs. Carlsberg?" 

"Of course." Abby rose and led them into the next room. "My husband is slightly...paranoid. We haven't washed the knife." she pulled it out of a drawer, handing its plastic bag to Sam. "Thank you, Agents." 

"of course." Sam nodded at her, and she exited the room. 

Dean turned to Sam, mouthing "that Steve guy is bat-shit  _crazy_." 

Sam nodded in response, and the pair got to work.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. This is Maddeningnoise. The only one. Any others you might find are imposters and mean ill towards you. Fair warning, Classes start back up tomorrow. Unfortunately, this means that updates will be significantly fewer and farther between. I DO plan to finish this story, however, so stick around. If you so choose. I can't control you. Do whatever you like. 
> 
> And hey...thanks.

Dean sat across from Sam at the Moonlite All-Nite Diner, chowing down on a bun-less burger. When the waiter, (a woman who seemed to be part tree) had arrived with the burger patty and the toppings but no bun, Dean had tried to request a bun. The response had been instantaneous. Everyone in the diner had turned around at once, eyes wide, and the waitress had dropped her serving platter while a member of the sheriff's secret police had scribbled hurriedly in their notebook without taking their eyes off of them. The waitress had very quietly explained that wheat and wheat byproducts had recently been banned in town because of the dangers that they posed, and that they could be forgiven because they're new in town, but could they please not ask again. Dean had huffed in response before returning to his patty. 

"So we know that it's a demonic spirit." Sam summarized. "the odd thing is that it doesn't seem to have possessed anyone. For that there would have had to be an intruder of some sort, and the Carlsbergs' did't see anyone. The fact that it used a knife to make random slash marks instead of going straight for the kill is what I really find odd."

Dean spoke through a large mouthful, glancing at the window as he did so. "Demons enjoy playing with their food. It's nothing new."

"Yeah, but..." Sam trailed off as Dean jolted out of the booth and dashed out of the diner. Their waitress swayed, and a few apples fell from her branches as she did so.   
Sam followed behind him, hurriedly leaving the diner and dashing across the desert landscape after his brother. Wind whipped at his hair and threw sand into his eyes, but over the howling, he could hear Dean shouting. 

"CAS!" Dean swayed as the wind caught him for a moment. "Hey, Cas!" 

That was when Sam spotted the man, walking slowly away from them without turning his head. He wore a tan jacket and carried a deerskin suitcase. Dean continued calling for the angel as he ran, some how unable to catch up despite their vastly different speeds. 

"Dean!" As suddenly materialized in front of Dean, right in his path of movement, and Dean, unable to stop himself in the wind, barreled straight into him and knocked the pair of them over. Sam slowed as he caught up to where they had landed, and the wind suddenly stopped completely. Cas lay on his back, Dean on top of him, blinking at the sudden appearance of the angel, though the man had been a departing at a long distance away only a few seconds ago. They lay there in the sand for a moment, chest to chest, nose to nose. Sam watching awkwardly and debating whether to tell his brother to just goddamn kiss him already, when Dean cleared his throat and stood awkwardly, brushing the sand off of his flannel. and greeting Cas.

"Hey Buddy."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on updating today. Then I decided that this was more fun than doing my statistics homework. So here I am.

"Dean." Cas says as they trudge back into town. "I heard you calling. Was something wrong?'

"No." Dean sounds very disgruntled, likely because of the accidental but all too suggestive position he just found himself and Cas in. "I just...mistook someone for you."

Sam knows that Dean cares very deeply for Cas. Dean might even love the angel, but his reluctance to admit to it will likely hold out until the day Dean dies. Sam has prodded and hinted at Dean every chance he gets, but has come no closer to getting Dean to confess to the angel. He thinks of the radio host and his boyfriend and wonders what it took to get them together. If he ever meets the man, he may ask for advice.

"So, I assume you're not just in this town for the fun of it?" the angel asks.

"Yep. We've got a case out here." Sam speaks for Dean, who is staring at the angel with a soft expression. Castiel fails to notice. "Demon attacks."

As turns Cas head and Dean clears his throat and snaps his head forward. Sam holds back a snicker.

"I assume I wouldn't be unwelcome if I asked to join?" Castiel inquired. "Alls quiet in heaven at the moment, though I'm sure it won't last long.

"Yeah!" Dean exclaims, a little too excited and a little too quickly. "That'd be nifty."

A moment of silence follows. Dean goes very red in the face as Cas raises his eyebrows. Sam pretends to cough so that he won't laugh out loud. When they reach the car and Cas ducks to get into the back seat, Sam mouths "nifty" at Dean, who mouths back that he should fuck off.

"I vote we investigate the other crime scenes on the west end of town." Dean states. "I'm still not sure how the demon is pulling this off."

"That sounds nifty." Cas responds from the back. Sam doesn't try to hide his laughter this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe nifty will be their neat? no? okay.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written while listening to Panic at the Dicso and avoiding stats homework again. Oops. 
> 
> This is really just a filler too. But I'm starting to get a better idea of where I'm going with this. 
> 
> And hey...Thanks. (for all the sweet comments a kudos. They make my day.)

As Dean drove towards the opposite end of town, Sam clicked the radio on. Cecil was just a few minutes into his show.

"And now, I regret to inform you all that Intern Sean has been sucked up by the black hole in the hallway, and will be missed. To the family and friends of Intern Sean, he was a good intern, and he served Community Radio Well."

Cas glanced between the two of them. "Is that a more pressing matter than the demonic attacks?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't think so. Weird stuff happens here all the time. For all we know thats typical."

The radio continued. "This just in listeners. There has been another mysterious attack in town. Felix Lorette, The One with the Beard died only a few minutes before my show began. I'm sure the new boys in town will be right on it, but since we're lacking an intern at the moment, I'll go down there for journalistic purposes too. I'd like to find out a little more about the strangers in chevy impala."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Looks like we're going to be meeting him, then. Lets find out where Felix Lorette lived."

They stopped at a stop sign for a little longer than strictly necessary to ask an old woman with a cane accompanied three winged creatures for directions.

"Oooh." The woman said. "You boys must be the new ones in town. Thats a rather nice car you've got there, Mr. Winchester."

Dean looked startled at the fact that she knew his name but said nothing.

The woman continued. "I'm Old Woman Josie. These three are Erika, Erika, and Erika." She gestured to the three tall creatures around her before leaning in to Dean's ear and whispered. "They're angels."

"They're really not." Cas said insistently from the back seat, even after saying it once to Old Woman Josie, interrupting the directions and "not strictly legal" offer of baked goods they had been getting from the old woman. "We really ought to check that out Dean, I've never seen an angel manifest itself that way."

"Well do it after this case." Dean insisted. "For now, we have a demon to catch and a radio host to meet."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written while waiting for the new episode of night vale. 
> 
> This chapter finally features our boys meeting Cecil. I make it pretty clear what I think he looks like, but what do you think? Let me know in the comments!
> 
>  
> 
> And hey. Thanks.

Felix Lorette, the one with the beard, had undoubtedly earned his tagline. The man's beard had been mostly hacked off during the attack in the effort to slice his neck, but it clearly fell well past his knees. the front of his neck had received a light slash horizontally across it. The back, on the other hand, was cut deep open vertically from his hairline to the middle of his back. His spine was split down the middle.

Sam raised his eyebrows at the sight before leaning down to examine the man. The efforts were undoubtedly demonic. The question was who the demon possessed, how they got into the house, and the motives behind it.

"The sheriff says all doors and windows were locked and that Rapunzel here lived alone." Dean says, returning from the front yard, where the "secret" police had been taping off the crime scene. "He’s got loads of demon warding symbols on his walls, but none that would stop the demon from getting through if it already had a meat suit. Whoever the demon's been possessing is either REALLY good at covering up their tracks, was someone he knew, or was already inside."

"But how could there already have been someone inside without him being aware, as you said?" Cas asked, standing a little too close to Dean. The backs of their hands were brushing. Dean moved his hand away under the pretense of scratching his face, blushing furiously.

Sam sighed, leaning down to examine the body again.

A sudden voice came from the doorway. "I have a guess."

Sam started, nearly falling onto Felix. The brothers and angel turned to see Cecil Palmer standing in the doorway, arms covered in moving purple tattoos, the purple eye tattoo blinking lazily at them from his forehead.

“You say that the possessed person would’ve had to be inside already?”  
Cecil asked, absently allowing a small tattoo to jump back and forth between his hands, his real eyes fixed on the dead body, the tattooed one lingering on the space where mere centimeters separated Dean and Cas’s hands.  
“Yeah.” Dean managed, eyes stuck on the third eye watching him.

“There’s only one thing in night vale that goes unnoticed unless it wishes not to.” Cecil declared. “Well, really there’s a lot of things that do that. But there’s one particular one.”

“What is it?” Sam asked, trying his hardest to look into Cecil’s real eyes, but failing.

“Is there something on my face?” Cecil asked, rubbing at his forehead and glancing at his hand.

“No.” Cas stated. “Can you tell us your theory?”

“Oh.” Cecil straightened, remembering. “Well it could definitely be the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home. She’d already be inside, and if the demon possessed her before the symbols went up, Felix Lorette, the one with the beard would be none the wiser until he got attacked."

"But how do we catch something that doesn't get seen unless it wants to be?" Can asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Well she secretly lives in your home. I suppose if you look there long enough, you'd find her." Cecil stated.

"We don't have one here." Sam protests.

Cecil thought for a moment. "The apartment next to Carlos and mine is empty. Carlos is my boyfriend. The couple that lived there before just moved out. It's furnished and everything. You could probably live there for a bit."

Now if you’ll excuse me, I only have a minute or so before the weather ends, so I’d better get back to the station.”

And he walked out.

The three stared after him, mouths open. Dean was the first to speak.

“That guy had three eyes, Sam.”

“Yeah, I saw.” Sam muttered.

“His tattoos were moving!”

“Yes, I saw.”

“This town has to have reached its weird max.” Dean stated. “I need a drink.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took far too long for me to get up. I'm sorry. Here it is now. 
> 
> Written while sipping on tea from my Night Vale Community Radio mug and listening to Raign's empire of our own on repeat.

Dean stared around the apartment that the trio had moved into for the remainder of the case, after considerable amounts of arguing and a possible threat to the sheriff's secret police, courtesy of Cecil. They'd been in the apartment for about a week now, with little if any activity on the part of the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home, and absolutely none from the demon possessing her.

In fact, the only truly annoying thing that had occurred in the apartment was the assumption that Cecil had made that the three of them would only need two bedrooms. He was technically right, but not for the reasons he had assumed. As an angel, Cas didn't sleep, and so he didn't need a bed, but Cecil had made his position very clear through the radio the day after they moved in.

"I believe I mentioned the other day after we came back from the weather that I met the mysterious strangers in the chevy impala. Since then, Carlos and I have gotten to know them much better. The newest member of the trio's name is Castiel, and he is not, despite what you may hear to the contrary, an Angel. Stop spreading that around town, Steve Carlsberg. The pair who arrived first are brothers, Sam and Dean winchester, and I must say, Dean and Castiel make a VERY cute couple. Dean won't give me a straight answer about how long they've been going out, but he's been making a sort of strangled choking noise every time I ask. My guess is he's got some sort of government issued ban on answering."

When he had said this, Dean had kicked a bedside table over in frustration, stubbing his toe and making the situation all the more irritating. After the pain in his toe subsided, he marched over to the next door apartment and knocked on the door until a very bemused Carlos answered it.

"Please." Dean had practically growled. "Tell your boyfriend to stop telling the whole town that Cas and I are dating."

Carlos had just laughed. Giggled, really. "Oh trust me, I've tried. You should have heard him talking about us that way before we started going out. Do you want to come in?"

Dean entered the house to find it to be much more normal looking than he would have expected, aside from the bleeding walls and wood carvings of a floating cat.

"He knows you're not actually dating Cas yet." Carlos began, leaning over the counter to hand Dean a beer. "It's his way of playing cupid, I suppose. It worked for us, took us a year and a near death experience on my part, but we got there in the end."

"A near death..." Dean sputtered, before giving up. He shut his mouth and took a large swig of his beer.

Carlos laughed, before taking a more serious tone. "Castiel does like you, you know. And I see the way you look at him."

"Theres no way...Castiel isn't like that." Dean muttered.

"Okay." Carlos muttered. "Just sort all this out before one of you nearly dies. It's not pleasant, nearly dying."

"There's nothing to sort out." Dean replied, standing suddenly and storming back to his own room, where he lay on his bed for a solid hour, arguing with himself internally before standing, not entirely of his own will, he was certain, and going to find Cas.

The angel sat at the dining room table, reviewing the case notes.

Dean cleared his throat awkwardly. Cas looked up.

"Let's go out for dinner tonight." Dean said, trying to keep his voice steady. "Just you and me."

Cas stared. "Like a...date?"

It took everything in Dean not to back out.

"Yes."

Castiel grinned widely. "I'd...love to Dean."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how I feel about this chapter. But I think I have a name for the next one: First Date.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. I'm so sorry this took so long. Hopefully you're satisfied with it.

Cas stared into the mirror, trying to find something to do with himself. From what he knew of dating, one was supposed to spend hours getting ready before the date picked you up, took you some where romantic, and kissed you at the end of the night. 

Then again, this was Dean, and he hadn't a clue what Dean had planned for their night, knowing only that he was supposed to "Dress casual". He had chosen, therefore, to wear the exact same thing he usually wore, with jeans instead of the slacks that usually went with the ensemble. he took a deep breath and went to exit the room, to find Carlos standing with a single hand raised as if to knock. Cecil had found out that the pair were going on a date within minutes of Dean having asked Castiel himself, apparently. 

"I heard you and Dean were going out this evening." Carlos grinned widely. "I'm not going to tell Dean I told him so, but just for the record, I told him so." 

Castiel smiled weakly. "It seems your boyfriend is quite aware of occurrences around town." 

Carlos nodded. "It's the third eye tattoo. It makes him clairvoyant. Fascinating really. I'd do tests, but it doesn't seem right to perform experiments on one's own boyfriend." 

Castiel made a little grunting noise in response. A moment of silence followed. 

"Nervous?" Carlos asked. Castiel nodded almost imperceptibly. Carlos continued "I was, until I saw him again that night. He sort of just made everything I was worried about melt away. "

Castiel hesitated, thinking. "Dean...does that for me, I think." 

Carlos grinned. "Then you'll be fine! Go get 'em"

They exited the room together, to find Dean waiting out in the hall. Carlos winked at them both. "Cecil pulled some strings so that you'll have the location to yourselves tonight. I'll just leave you two to it." 

Dean stared at Cas for a second, unsure. Cas stared back, also unsure. 

"I don't know how he does it." Dean muttered, breaking the silence. "Cecil scares me more and more every day."

Cas nodded in response. 

Another moment of silence. "Well, let's go." Dean said finally. "I heard theres a new skating rink in town, and I want to check it out."

He grabbed Cas' hand, threading their fingers and pulling Cas along. Cas stared down at their hands, feeling his face go pink and a tingling sensation begin in his fingertips. The pair walked to the car together, still holding hands. Dean only broke them apart when they got into the impala, opening the door for Cas before going around to his own side. 

Sam was just re-entering the apartment complex, carrying shopping bags. 

"don't wait up Sam." Dean called out. "Cas and I have a date."

Sam's mouth practically dropped to the asphalt. 

*  
The rink was empty when they arrived, as Carlos had said it would be. "Carry On My Wayward Son" was playing over the speakers

"Ever done this before?" Dean asked, just now realizing that the answer was probably no. 

Predictably, Cas shook his head. 

"I'll teach you." Dean said, grabbing the two pairs of skates resting on the counter, which happened to be just their size. "You'll catch on in no time."

"I don't understand." Cas said dubiously. "why would it be fun to roll-" 

"come on Cas." Dean grinned. "Give it a rest."

Cas did, and the pair got their skates tied up on the benches next to the rink. Cas struggled to stand when the skates were tied, falling back down onto the bench twice before Dean offered his hand and pulled the angel over the rink. 

Dean turned to face Cas when they got a little ways onto the rink, offering both his hands. Cas took them, and the pair glided slowly to the rink, Cas wobbling from time to time. When they finally got to the rink, Dean let go of Cas's hand. Cas wobbled dangerously, nearly falling. 

"Careful." Dean skated around to face him, offering both his hands again. "Let me show you." 

Cas took them, blushing furiously. Dean started skating backwards, dragging Cas with him. 

"Now push back with one foot and then the other...thats it!" 

They continued this for a while longer, skating in loops around the rink to increasingly soft, romantic music. Dean didn't object to the song choice, though Cas knew that he normally would have. 

"Your much less wobbly than before. Lets take it up a step." Dean suggested, letting go of Cas' hands and skating across the rink to the far wall. 

"Dean...I don't think-" Cas protested, wobbling a bit at the loss of support. 

"C'mon, you can do it Cas." Dean called from the other side of the rink. 

Cas sighed, taking a small, shaky glide forward, and another, gaining speed with each movement, going too fast, but not realizing it until it was too late, crashing into Dean's arms and pinning him against the edge of the rink, noses bumping, bodies flush against each other, legs tangled. 

The world came to a stand still, both aware that they ought to move, go back to skating, or take the leap, but neither sure which move to take. Eyes met, Noses bumped, breaths mingled, heart beats sped up, lips brushed in an almost but not quite kiss. 

"Cas..." Dean breathed. 'I think I lo-" 

"Alright boys, we're closing up for the night, time to clear out!" 

The shout from the owner of the establishment broke the spell. Cas backed up, and the pair glided silently back to the benches to remove their skates. 

So close. Dean thought. They had been so damn close. 

The ride back was quiet but comfortable, the pair holding hands in between their front seats. Dean's thumb rubbing Cas' hand soothingly. Cas became distracted when Old Woman Josie's 'angels' passed by the car. He would never know about the soft, loving glances that he earned from Dean during the times that he hadn't been looking.

At the door of the apartment, the pair stopped, turning to face each other. Dean leaned in slowly, determined to kiss Cas this time, when Sam burst through the door of the apartment, eyes frantic. He paused for a second when he saw Dean and Cas, a regretful expression passing over his face before the panic returned.

"The faceless old woman has Carlos."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm sorry. Midterms happened. This will probably be the second to last chapter. We're nearing the end.

Cecil was hysterical. The radio host was rocking back and forth on the couch, eyes squeezed shut, eye tattoo darting back and forth as though looking for someone. Which he was, Dean realized with a pang of pity. He was using his all-seeing third eye to search night vale for Carlos, without success, apparently. 

Sam lead them over to the wall, where the words "oak house" were written in blood dripping slowly down the wall, providing the only evidence of Carlos' disappearance or where he might have been taken. Castiel reached over to the wall and wiped a finger across one of the letters, rubbing it between his fingers as he held it closer to his eyes. 

"It's his." he confirmed a second later, voice low enough that Cecil couldn't hear. The Winchesters cringed, wondering how much blood had been drained from the scientist in order to provide the words on the wall. 

"okay." Sam stated "We need to find out where he is soon, or Cecil's either going to burn down the town looking for him or go into shock."

Dean nodded, and the trio went over to Cecil, sitting in the chairs surrounding Cecil's. Sam and Dean exchanged a "no, you do it" look for several seconds before Dean gave in and leaned over to Cecil, and patting his shoulder awkwardly. Cecil's face emerged from his hands.

"look, we know this must be hard." Dean said, as comfortingly as he could. "but we need your help to find him. Do you have any idea what "oak house" could mean?" 

Cecil shook his head miserably. "He had an experiment with Old Oak Doors a few years ago, but...I can't think where he could be in relation to that. The house his team was experimenting at was torn down a few months back, so unless he's being held on an empty lot..." 

"We need to check there." Sam interrupted. "Cecil, stay put, we'll be back as soon as we can be." 

"absolutely not." Cecil's tone changed from desolate to furious in a terrifying matter of seconds. "Carlos is the love of my life, and if there's anything I can do to save him from the wretched old woman , I will." 

Dean glanced at Sam. "I wouldn't let you leave me behind to save Cas either. Let's take him with."

Sam shrugged, and went over to grab the keys. Cas caught his shoulder and beckoned Dean and Cecil over. "this is faster." 

Dean blinked, and they were on an almost empty lot, a concrete foundation standing as the only evidence of a house having once been on that spot. Sam and Dean switched on their flashlights, guns drawn, and scanned the area. 

It was Cecil who found the trap door on the back edge of the foundation, as overgrown and dusty as the lot was. with careful tread, Dean turned off his flashlight and went first, followed closely by Cas, Sam, and Cecil. 

Cecil saw it first, despite being the last one down. As the group's eyes adjusted to the dark, several things happened at once: Cecil let out a simultaneously pitiful and angry sound, and a light was switched on with a snap of a pair of invisible fingers, revealing Carlos tied to a chair, limp and lifeless, head lolled backward, an unseeable hand gripping his hair and holding a gun to his head. 

No matter how hard Dean tried, he couldn't look directly at the woman. It wasn't that he didn't want to because of a gory sight, or that she was invisible. Neither of these things were true. (Though she had put a sizable slash in Carlos's leg) The faceless old woman who secretly lived in your home seemed to repel vision. You could sense she was there, goosebumps rising on the back of your neck, hair standing on end as though someone was directly behind you, but you couldn't look at her. This was probably part of the appeal for the demon possessing her. 

"let him go." Cecil tried, a dangerous tone in his voice. 

"hmmmm....how about no?" The demon replied sweetly. A swoosh of air, and she had thrown their weapons across the room. "you've come too close to catching me, and by extension, this lovely old lady." 

Cas disappeared into thin air. Dean cursed internally. 

"aw, is the angel chickening out?" The demon giggled. "You're all royally screwed n-" 

A gun shot burst through the air, a blood spatter landing on the floor a few feet away from the heavy thump where the body had landed. Cecil dove forward to get to Carlos, cupping both his hands on Carlos's cheeks. 

Cas lowered the gun, stuffing it roughly into his coat pocket. He took a few paces forward and touched Carlos' head with his hand as Cecil desperately checked for a pulse. 

A moment of tense silence from the group, before Carlos' eyes fluttered and he uttered a tiny. "Cecil...?

Cecil nearly cried, pressing his forehead to Carlos'. " Don't you ever do that to me again, love."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...I guess this is it. The last chapter of "Welcome to Night Vale, Winchesters." I've never had this much fun writing a fan fiction before, and I hope you enjoyed it. 
> 
> If you did and haven't done so already, or just want to do it again, leave a kudos or drop a comment. 
> 
> I've yet to decide for certain, but there MAY be a sequel on the horizon, if y'all are interested.
> 
> And hey...thanks.

Dean carried the last of his things from the apartment out to the impala and tossed them into the trunk before joining Sam in biding farewell to Cecil and Carlos. Castiel leaned thoughtfully against the car, eyes staring off into space. 

Though Carlos now sported bandages, in various locations, and stitches across his temple where he had been knocked out when the demon had captured him. Aside from these relatively minor scrapes, he was completely intact, and Cecil had managed to take a few days off work to spend every moment with him. When he had recovered from the shock of his boyfriend's near-death, he had thanked the winchester brothers almost endlessly. 

He was doing it again as Dean joined Sam to say goodbye to the pair. 

"really, I can't thank you enough." Cecil said, shaking Sam's hand.

Sam smiled tiredly. "All in a days work. Call us if anything especially odd happens."

"If you two are ever passing through, you're welcome to stay for a visit." Carlos added, giving them a weak smile. 

"thanks. Stay safe." Dean responded.

Carlos smiled at Cecil lovingly. "unlikely, but we'll try." 

Dean wandered over to Cas, hands in his pockets, and leaned against the car next to him. 

"sort of shows you how we'll never be able to solve all the supernatural problems in this world huh?" Dean stated, glancing over it Cas. 

Cas hummed in response. There was a moment of silence, which Cas broke. 

"you know, we never got to..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Dean understood, and leaned over and kissed him against the side of the impala. It was brief, and gentle, and a perfect first kiss in an odd desert town. 

"Finally." Sam said loudly, when they broke apart. "You two have been flirting since you met! Let's get on the road, love birds," 

"Cas gets shotgun!" Dean called, opening the door for Cas and racing around to the side as Cas slid in despite Sam's protests. 

The impala pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, dust rising in its path, Cecil and Carlos waving as they went. 

From inside the apartment complex, the faceless old woman, still alive through means unknown, painted the lightbulbs purple. 

Night Vale's peaceful oddities were restored, and things were back to normal, or as normal as they could ever be in a town like Night Vale.


	14. SEQUEL COMING SOON

So. A sequel is finally coming for this. I've yet to decide on a title, but I'm going to call it "Saving Cecil, Hunting things" for now. The first chapter should be up before this Saturday, but the rest may be difficult to put up as I'm working at a camp this summer and barely have any time to sleep, much less write on a device the campers can't know I have. So hopefully I'll get a few chapters up this summer and maybe the amount I update will pick up when I get back to school. 

I had so much fun writing "welcome to night vale winchesters", and hope you'll come along for the sequel.


End file.
